{The fight against one of the country’s deadliest diseases, malaria, has slightly been eased with the launching of new high dose strength for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in adults and older children who weigh 35kg and above.}
The Novartis Head of Africa Operations, Malaria Initiative, Dr Nathan Mulure, said at the launch over the weekend that the new high dose strength is called Coartem® 80/480 (artemether/lumefantrine 80 mg/480 mg) and that the drug has been registered by the TFDA, Tanzania Food and Drug Administration and has already been launched in Nigeria, Kenya and Angola, Cote d’ Ivoire and many other countries.
“Novartis reaffirms its strong commitment to the fight against malaria. This achievement is a truly remarkable milestone contributing to treating many patients and help in the reduction of disease burden.
The fewer tablets offer a convenient solution for busy lives. The launch of Coartem® 80/480 in Tanzania marks another milestone in the fight against Malaria, and will benefit patients with a convenient and high quality treatment for malaria,” he said. In July 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified the drug paving its way for the introduction into the public sectors and donor funded programmes.
In a bid to enhance patient compliance, the full course of treatment for malaria has been reduced from 24 tablets to six tablets translating into a 75 per cent reduction in pill burden using Coartem 80/480.
The Coartem 80/480 was first registered in Switzerland by a stringent health authority, the Swissmedic. Others who spoke during the launch include the renowned malariologist, Professor Zul Premji, who advised that malaria must be confirmed by laboratory or rapid diagnostic tests before treatment is started.
A research scientist at Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), Dr Abdunoor Mulokozi, explained that pill burden reduction has been associated with better adherence to treatment in many acute and chronic diseases. Registrar of the Pharmacy Council Ms Elizabeth Shekalaghe emphasized on the importance of rationale use of medicine and creating awareness to the public.
She added that there should be a collaborative effort amongst all stakeholders to ensure that medicines are used correctly. “Through a partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2001, we were the first company in the healthcare industry to commit to the supply of anti-malarial treatments to the public sector in endemic countries without profit”, added Dr Mulure.
Novartis pioneered the launch of a fixed-dose ACT, and ten years later, in 2009, the first dispersible ACT was tailored to meet the needs of children who are the most vulnerable to malaria.
Each year, there are more than one million malaria-related deaths around the world. Nine out of ten malaria deaths occur in sub Saharan Africa, and the vast majority of malaria-related deaths occur in children. In Africa alone, a child dies every 60 seconds from malaria.
As part of its ongoing commitment to patients and health workers, Novartis also provides malaria case management educational programmes, which include hands-on training for local healthcare workers, customized training manuals, and user-friendly packaging to ensure that Coartem and Coartem Dispersible are properly used and to improve patient compliance.
In 2001, Novartis signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Health Organization to provide at no profit, Coartem to malaria endemic countries all over the world. Since then, Coartem has grown from 100,000 treatments per year product to over 100 million treatments, a milestone that was achieved in the year 2011.
Novartis is the first company to develop a WHO prequalified child friendly medication, the Coartem Dispersible. Dispersible tablets easily break up in water, are sweet and easy to take.
Two sites in Tanzania participated in the phase 3 clinical trials of Coartem Dispersible tablet. Since 2009, over 250 million dispersible tablet treatments have been delivered the vast majority to African countries.
DAILY NEWS
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